Jersey City Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore pushed to delay the vote on the next Ward B council member during this afternoon’s caucus.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“Maureen is here to answer any questions you may have,” City Clerk Sean Gallagher noted after Gilmore asked about the process.
“Is there a notice that has to go out? Is there the opportunity to do meetings with all of the candidates who have requested? I just want to make sure the process is fair across the board irregardless of who’s appointing who,” Gilmore asked.
Acting Corporation Counsel Brittany Murray noted that while the administration can take resumes and make recommendations, it ultimately comes down to a council vote, and it this instance, the appoint last through Election Day – which is November 4th.
“I’ve known Maureen for over 30 years,” Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano interjected.
“There’s no opportunity to do interviews. There’s no like, notice for people to apply?” Gilmore questioned.
“There’s no set process like that, no,” Murray said to Gilmore’s dismay.
Business Administrator John Metro sought to provide further clarity.
“Councilman, the way it works is there’s a 30-day vacancy law that it has to be filled within the 30 days. So, the Administration put up a community advocate … to fulfill the term for the remainder of the year,” he explained.
The administration put up Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) Board Chair Maureen Hulings for a vote to potentially succeed Mira Prinz-Arey, who is now the Jersey City Economic Development Economic Corporation (EDC) executive director, both as HCV first reported.
“I think you can hold your own interviews too because Solomon, Councilman Solomon, interviewed me and interviewed a bunch of Ward D candidates when the late Councilman Michael Yun passed away,” Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh, the last council member to get appointed in April 2020, recalled.
“We should interview everyone who expressed interest, period. We have 30 days. I’m not saying she’s [Maureen is] the right candidate or the wrong candidate. The process needs to be fair and accessible to everyone … Why don’t we do our due diligence?”
Gilmore argued they could meet jointly with candidates, to which Murray reminded that they only have a 30-day window to appoint, therefore the May 7th meeting would be their final opportunity to do so.
“I would like to interview everybody who submitted their resume,” Gilmore repeated, to which Saleh noted every single council member interviewed him.
“Ya gotta win each vote, ya know? You can’t take anybody for granted,” Saleh stated.
Boggiano reiterated that he had known Hulings for 30 years and looked forward to her being a colleague.
“I’d like at least want a chance to interview all the folks that sent in resumes. I received three: My preference would be to vote in May,” Ward E Councilman James Solomon noted.
Saleh said they should make a decision as a governing body, while Metro again stressed urgency and that Hulings was in attendance.
“She’s a community advocate and not looking to seek office after,” he added.
“We got the 30 days: We might as well utilize the 30 days. I don’t see no harm,” replied Gilmore.
“The budget,” Saleh noted about voting on introduction.
Metro suggested they could vote at the May 7th meeting if he felt it was necessary, indicating he was eager to avoid a theoretical split decision.
“The budget’s going to be in jeopardy if we don’t have nine people? We voted last year for the first time and two people wasn’t here – Just be fair,” Gilmore pressed forward.
“If there was a councilperson who had somebody they wanted to put forth, they would need to submit a resolution for that person, correct? So, the person has to be on the agenda,” Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley noted.
Additionally, Saleh thought the only people who submitted resumes were Hulings and Danielle Maini.
“I only received two additional resumes, which I forwarded to the entire municipal council when I received them, besides Maureen,” Gallagher noted.
While he didn’t mentioned her name outright, HCV reported on Friday that the third candidate to express an interest is Lincoln Park North Neighborhood Association’s Kayla Burell.
Metro again stressed that Hulings was present to address anything the council wanted prior to moving ahead.
“So, we’re not going to interview anybody else? We’re just gonna vote on her or not?” Gilmore asked.
“If you want to bring someone else, you have the right to bring a resolution to vote,” Watterman noted.
“If we vote on this … you essentially took away due process,” Gilmore declared.
“You can vote against it,” Watterman said.
Saleh also said he could make a motion to carry or introduce a new resolution, as Ridley had said earlier.
“What’s the harm in carrying to the next two weeks?” Gilmore questioned.
“Why don’t we do that if it’s only three people? You could interview them tomorrow,” suggested Councilman-at-Large Daniel Rivera.
“You want to give people notice,” Gilmore replied, he declared, noting the timing of a group interview could be difficult on such short notice.
As it stands now, the resolution to vote on Hulings’ appointment remains on the agenda.
The Jersey City Council will convene for their regular session at City Hall, 280 Grove St., on Wednesday at 6 p.m., which will also stream live on Microsoft Teams.
